US, Iran may unite to help Iraq as John Kerry refuses to rule out drone strikes in wake of brutal massacre

June 17, 201410:55pm

ISIS Militants Capture Northern Iraqi Town of Tal Afar5:05

Sunni militants have captured the key northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, adding to the vast area of territory that Iraq's government lost to insurgents last week. WSJ's Robert Ourlian joins Michael Casey on the News Hub with exclusive details. Photo: AP

THE Australian Government has issued an urgent warning to Aussies in Iraq to get out now as the crisis escalates and Barack Obama sends in troops.

The warning comes amid reports of clashes near Badghdad’s International Airport as Islamic militants and Iraqi tribal forces begin their push towards Baghdad.

New reports tonight say militants have attacked and taken control of parts of the central Iraq city of Baquba but security forces claim to have repelled them.

The assault occurred just 60km from Baghdad.

Reports from Baquba say rebels are reported to have taken over several quarters and captured the main police station, seizing many weapons, the BBC reports.

The overnight attack took place in the centre of Baquba, capital of Diyala provinnce, and according to the officers, saw militants temporarily occupying several neighbourhoods.

“If they manage to take control of the city, they will have a straight run down the major highways into Baghdad. There is nothing else in the way,” according to the BBC.

Iraqi police officials say at least 44 detainees have also died as Sunni militants attacked a police station northeast of Baghdad and fought with pro-government Shiite militiamen defending the lockup. There is conflicting information on how the detainees died.

Three police officers say the station, which has a small jail, came under attack by Islamic militants in Diyala province. The attackers tried to free the detainees, all suspected Sunni militants.

The three say the Shiite militiamen killed the detainees at close range. A morgue official in the provincial capital of Baquba says many had bullet wounds to the head and chest.

All four spoke on condition of anonymity fearing for their safety.

Iraq’s military says 52 detainees were killed when the attackers shelled the station with mortar rounds.

The Iraqi government has claimed Saudi Arabia should be “held responsible” for militant financing and crimes committed by insurgent groups in Iraq.

MOVING TOWARDS BAGHDAD

A tribal rebel spokesman told Al Arabiya News the decision to launch an assault on Baghdad was taken during a meeting by tribal rebel military commanders.

Sheikh Ali Hatem al-Suleiman Al-Dulaimi, head of one of the largest Arab tribes, warned of more bloodshed, saying tribal forces were “capable of eliminating terrorists if (Iraqi Prime Minister) Maliki withdraws his forces.”

A week-long militant offensive that has overrun swathes of Iraq is “life-threatening” and is the biggest threat to its sovereignty in many years, the UN envoy to Baghdad told AFP.

“Right now, it’s life-threatening for Iraq but it poses a serious danger to the region,” Nickolay Mladenov said.

“Therefore, there needs to be a realisation in the region. The Iraq crisis must be solved by the Iraqis but they cannot do that without the international community and the constructive cooperation of the region.” He added that “Iraq faces the biggest threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity” in years.

Mladenov, the special representative of the UN secretary general, told AFP the “national crisis” had strained relations between the country’s three main communities -- Shiite Arabs, Sunni Arabs and Kurds.

“The political dynamics of the country have changed,” he said, speaking in his office.

Militants, lead by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), have taken control of all of one province and parts of three others north of Baghdad in a swift offensive in which they have said they intend to advance on Baghdad.

BAGHDAD DEFENCES BOLSTERED

President Obama has called a meeting of his National Security Committee to consider his options after ordering 100 extra troops into Iraq to bolster the defences of US embassy staff and key assets.

The extra soldiers will bring the total number of US troops in the beleaguered nation to 275. They are intended to secure the US embassy and the “Green Zone” international compound in Baghdad city and the nearby international airfield.

The US force, which began deploying on Sunday, has been sent “for the purpose of protecting US citizens and property, if necessary, and is equipped for combat,’’ Obama wrote in a letter notifying US lawmakers.

Meanwhile the US overnight indicated it may cooperate with traditional foe Iran to save Iraq from the advancing jihadists, warning that drone strikes were a possibility.

The US administration is facing increasing pressure to act.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner issued a challenge this morning: ‘The Speaker supports the ongoing steps to secure US personnel and facilities in the midst of a fluid situation, but he still expects a comprehensive strategy to protect America’s national security interests in Iraq’’.

That strategy may involve assistance from the openly declared enemy of the United States.

Brutal victory ... Iraqi soldiers are reportedly being executed by ISIS jihadists, according to propaganda videos being posted on the internet.Source:YouTube

WILL THE US WORK WITH IRAN?

US officials have admitted the crisis in Iraq has been with Iran on the sidelines of nuclear talks in Vienna, but warn that no outside countries can fix Baghdad’s problems.

“The issue did come up briefly with Iran on the margins of the P5+1 in Vienna today, separate from our trilateral meeting’’ which had included the EU, a senior State Department official said in a statement, asking not to be named.

State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed to CNN television that there were “brief discussions.’’

It is yet to be determined “if we want to keep talking to Iran about Iraq,’’ she added, acknowledging though that Tehran and Washington had “a shared interest’’ in ensuring that militants don’t get “a foothold any more in Iraq.’’

But she stressed: “No outside country can fix Iraq’s problems. We need Iraq’s political leaders from across the spectrum to step up.’’

US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier said that he would be open to cooperating with Iran and warned of potential drone strikes to halt a militant assault.

“I wouldn’t rule out anything that would be constructive,” Mr Kerry told Yahoo News when asked if the United States would cooperate militarily with Iran, one of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s key allies.

He stressed, however, “Let’s see what Iran might or might not be willing to do before we start making any pronouncements.” Even though Iran and the United States do not have formal diplomatic ties, talks between US and Iranian officials could come as early as this week on the sidelines of scheduled negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in Vienna.

Combat capacity ... The amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19), which carries Osprey troop-transport helicopters, will join other US naval ships already in the gulf, including the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. The ship can also carry a large contingent of Marines.Source:AFP

Significantly, Kerry’s deputy Bill Burns who led months of secret talks with Iran in Oman to kickstart the nuclear negotiations, is with the US delegation in Austria, signalling that separate discussions could be on the table.

OPTIONS OPEN

US President Barack Obama is carrying out “a very thorough vetting of every option that is available” including drone strikes, Mr Kerry said, stressing Washington was “deeply committed to the integrity of Iraq as a country.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she does not envisage a circumstance where Australia would send troops into Iraq.

“The United States hasn’t asked and neither has the Iraqi government, more to the point,” Ms Bishop told Channel Nine this morning.

Australia stands ready to assist “on the humanitarian front”,” she said, but hasn’t yet been asked.

A number of embassy staff have left the embassy, but a “very small” amount remain.

“I am discussing with the Department of Foreign Affairs and trade the way we could provide humanitarian aid if it is requested.”

“We have contingencies in place depending on what we can are asked to do.”

Ms Bishop said Iraq has a “sovereign government” so we need to be asked by them “or indeed through the United States”.

A week after extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captured Iraq’s second city Mosul in a lightning sweep, the jihadists took the strategic Shiite town of Tal Afar.

Tal Afar is dominated by ethnic Turkomen, who are both Sunni and Shiite, and is a key prize for the insurgents as it sits 150 kilometres from the Syrian border. The al-Qaeda breakaway group leading the push in Iraq also is fighting in the civil war next door in Syria where it controls territory abutting the Iraqi border.

Tal Afar Mayor Abdulal Abdoul told AP that the city of 200,000 people was taken just before dawn.

Ready for battle ... Iraqi volunteers wearing their new uniforms cheer following a speech by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.Source:AFP

The stunning offensive appears to have caught Iraqi leaders and Washington by surprise, and prompted fears of a possible new sectarian civil war between Sunni and Shiites in the country from which US forces withdrew in December 2011.

“This is a challenge to the stability of the region. It is obviously an existential challenge to Iraq itself. This is a terrorist group,” Mr Kerry told Yahoo.

Over the weekend, militants posted graphic photos that appeared to show their gunmen massacring scores of captured Iraqi soldiers.

Execution ... militants have posted graphic photos that appeared to show their gunmen massacring captured Iraqi soldiers. Picture: YouTubeSource:YouTube

Air strikes “are not the whole answer, but they may well be one of the options that are important to be able to stem the tide and stop the movement of people who are moving around in open convoys and trucks and terrorising people,” Mr Kerry said.

“When you have people murdering, assassinating in these mass massacres, you have to stop that and you do what you need to do if you need to try to stop it from the air or otherwise.”

‘Massacre’ ... US Secretary of State John Kerry says ‘you do what you need to do if you need to try to stop it.’ Picture: YouTubeSource:YouTube

On Monday, Interior Ministry spokesman, Brigadier General Saad Maan Ibrahim, told a press conference that Iraqi security forces killed 56 “terrorists” and wounded 21 in operations just outside the capital over the last 24 hours. He made no mention of Tal Afar and left without taking any questions.

Security at the US Embassy in Baghdad also was strengthened and some staff members were sent elsewhere in Iraq and to neighbouring Jordan, the State Department said Sunday.

Should you be unable to contact Australian family and friends and have concerns for their welfare, please call the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 24 hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135 or +61 2 6261 3305 if calling from overseas.

On guard ... An Iraqi security officer, stands guard outside the Church of the Virgin Mary in the northern town of Bartala.Source:AFP

The State Department also issued a travel warning for Iraq on Sunday night, which cautioned US citizens to avoid “all but essential travel to Iraq.” The warning said the Baghdad International Airport was “struck by mortar rounds and rockets” and the international airport in Mosul also has been targeted.

However, a senior Baghdad airport official, Saad al-Khafagi, denied that the facility or surrounding areas have been hit. State-run Iraqiya television also denied the attack, quoting the Ministry of Transport.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that the reports of Islamic militants massacring Iraqi soldiers was “deeply disturbing” and warned in a statement against sectarian rhetoric that could inflame the conflict and carry grave implications for the entire region.

The grisly images could also sap the morale of Iraq’s security forces and heighten sectarian tensions.

Human cost ... Iraqis who have fled the violence in their hometown of Mosul line arrive at Khazir refugee camp outside of Irbil, 350 kilometres north of Baghdad, Iraq.Source:AP